Having trained under John Steadman, Tony Midgely, Steve Austen, Iain, Rob,etc in Ronin Yudansha Ryu in Bootle, Liverpool for 3 years, i really enjoyed my training there and they were decent people to me. I never once got the impression that it was about making money. To be fair to the system, there are a lot of good techniques in there which are found in more authentic koryu systems. For example, the front scooping throw, which is very reminiscent of the obiotoshi throw from daito ryu aikijujutsu, kotegaeshi from aikido, nikkyo wrist locks from aikido,etc. (Aikido is from daito ryu aikijujutsu, so these techniques emerged from a koryu system originally). Also, there is the shoulder wheel, which is found in hapkido & the shoulder crash, which is similar to a bujinkan budo taijutso & judo throw. It is a composite style of mainly judo, karate & aikido, which does have some effective techniques in there. I know this from first hand experience in real street fights that i have had. Those fights were not out of choice. I am the least likely person to want to have a fight and normally avoid fighting at all costs, but in a last resort, someimes you have to fight. Yes, it is completely lacking in groundwork techniques, but in the Fernhill sports centre, we used to spar quite regularly in stand-up techniques. I do think that the striking aspect of the system needs to be improved as well, but in relation to general goshin techniques, the system does have a lot of merits. Since those times, i have progressed to aikido, bjj (which in my opinion is an evolved form of fusen ryu jiujitsu - the ne waza of jigaro kano's judo), daito ryu aikijujutsu, wing chun kung fu, goju ryu karate, krav maga, a little hapkido & am looking to learn muay thai, goshinkwai yawara, silat & pekiti tersia kali. I do respect a lot of the MMA fighters athletism/fitness levels, with their amalgam of muay Thai/muay Boran, BJJ/judo/wrestling/sambo, boxing, etc & think that it is an effective system for 1-on-1 unarmed fight, but the reality on the streets against weapons or multiple opponents, then i think systems like aikido, krav maga, daito ryu aikijujutsu, etc are better at dealing with those type of situations. There is a difference between sports, submission grappling/vale tudo & real fighting, where anything goes. I'm just a student of the martial arts, but i will continue to learn for the duration of my life & try to have respect for all other practitioners of other martial arts. IMHO, martial arts are not just about fighting, but are about instilling discipline, respect, perseverance, diligence, courteousness, integrity, honesty, industriousness, etc in an individual. Lessons which can be applied to all areas of life and not just within the realm of fighting.

Having trained under John Steadman, Tony Midgely, Steve Austen, Iain, Rob,etc in Ronin Yudansha Ryu in Bootle, Liverpool for 3 years, i really enjoyed my training there and they were decent people to me. I never once got the impression that it was about making money. To be fair to the system, there are a lot of good techniques in there which are found in more authentic koryu systems. For example, the front scooping throw, which is very reminiscent of the obiotoshi throw from daito ryu aikijujutsu, kotegaeshi from aikido, nikkyo wrist locks from aikido,etc. (Aikido is from daito ryu aikijujutsu, so these techniques emerged from a koryu system originally). Also, there is the shoulder wheel, which is found in hapkido & the shoulder crash, which is similar to a bujinkan budo taijutso & judo throw. It is a composite style of mainly judo, karate & aikido, which does have some effective techniques in there. I know this from first hand experience in real street fights that i have had. Those fights were not out of choice. I am the least likely person to want to have a fight and normally avoid fighting at all costs, but in a last resort, someimes you have to fight. Yes, it is completely lacking in groundwork techniques, but in the Fernhill sports centre, we used to spar quite regularly in stand-up techniques. I do think that the striking aspect of the system needs to be improved as well, but in relation to general goshin techniques, the system does have a lot of merits. Since those times, i have progressed to aikido, bjj (which in my opinion is an evolved form of fusen ryu jiujitsu - the ne waza of jigaro kano's judo), daito ryu aikijujutsu, wing chun kung fu, goju ryu karate, krav maga, a little hapkido & am looking to learn muay thai, goshinkwai yawara, silat & pekiti tersia kali. I do respect a lot of the MMA fighters athletism/fitness levels, with their amalgam of muay Thai/muay Boran, BJJ/judo/wrestling/sambo, boxing, etc & think that it is an effective system for 1-on-1 unarmed fight, but the reality on the streets against weapons or multiple opponents, then i think systems like aikido, krav maga, daito ryu aikijujutsu, etc are better at dealing with those type of situations. There is a difference between sports, submission grappling/vale tudo & real fighting, where anything goes. I'm just a student of the martial arts, but i will continue to learn for the duration of my life & try to have respect for all other practitioners of other martial arts. IMHO, martial arts are not just about fighting, but are about instilling discipline, respect, perseverance, diligence, courteousness, integrity, honesty, industriousness, etc in an individual. Lessons which can be applied to all areas of life and not just within the realm of fighting.

Mimor point, but this would be better presented if you had paragraphs as it's just a wall of text and therefore not so easy to read (though I'm sure you meant well).

I've only met Sensei John Steaman once when he was on the mat at the UNJJ Seminar in Brighton (UK) in 2000. He asked if anyone knew of the Zygomatic Nerve and, unwisely, I put my Hand up. The told me to throw a Punch and I found myself on the floor in much pain.

He then asked if I knew of the Vagus Nerve. I replied, "No, Sensei". He said, "Welll, you're going to find out. Throw a Punch". I did. I then found myself back on the mat. I have never forgotten that Strike. Good Lord.

If John Steadman visits and you get the chance on the mat to throw a punch at him, tell us how it went.

And how much it hurt.

Thank you.

Most people are not saying their are no skilled people, their, just that the syllabus is inadequate to avoid huge school to school variation. The
commonly used training method and complete lack of sparring are also key issues.

Hi again,
I have heard that Mr Clark was at one time a student of Inoue Sensei, the Soke of the Hontai Yoshin Ryu. This is a legitimate and highly regarded koryu jujitsu system in Japan.
So if he used this as the basis of the WJJF syllabus then I agree that calling it jujitsu is certainly appropriate.
(and BTW, I don't think Inoue has a beard ! ;-) )

This was proven to be a false claim made with forged papers.

"Out of every hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back." -- Hericletus, circa 500 BC

Robert Clarke was totally exposed as a fraud with no legitimate ties to Japan, YEARS ago.

He, Dickie Morris, Rod Sarc. (Juko-kai), they all were together at one point and then all of them went off to do their all thing....

...they all have something else in common too.

"Out of every hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back." -- Hericletus, circa 500 BC